My venture into the three pound Beetleweight class began in 2009 when I was
in the eighth grade. After many years
of being a spectator at combat robot
events, I saw the chassis of the
Beetleweight vertical spinner Altitude
on eBay, built by Kevin Barker of K2
and Terminal Velocity fame (Figure 1).

I pulled the trigger, won the auction,
and stepped into the violent yet
thrilling world of three pound
combat robots.

Included with the chassis and
other proprietary parts were two 8”
titanium discs and a substantially
heavier and more intimidating waterjet
cut spring steel blade. Unfortunately,
the robot would be grossly overweight
with the gleaming spring steel blade,
so that disc would have to wait while
I contemplated its future use.

To complete Attitude — my newly
renamed robot — I bought the motors
and electronics, and entered
RoboGames 2010 — the largest
robotics competition in the world,
conveniently located a short distance
from my home.

After three excitingly brutal
matches, Attitude was out of the
competition but ready for more
carnage. During the Beetleweight
rumble at the end of the competition,
I bit off a little more than I could
chew, discovering firsthand Attitude’s
inherent weakness: frame flex.

A vicious horizontal undercutter —
after shredding apart my titanium
front scoop and flinging it across the
arena — got a good hit on my titanium
blade and splayed the aluminum frame
rails out enough so that the whole
weapon assembly flew into the arena
walls with tremendous velocity.

Consequently, my robot limped
around the arena weaponless and
shamed from the aftermath of that
fateful encounter (Figure 2). While
Attitude was able to inflict damage on
its opponents, it lacked the jaw-dropping, arena-shaking punch of
other Beetleweights that I so desired.

I utilized that original
design of Attitude for close to
two years, placing as high as
second at Combots Cup VI
and third at RoboGames
2011. Make no mistake,
Attitude was able to shred
into and even knock out a
number of its opponents
(Figure 3), but I wanted
something more: for my
fellow competitors to truly
fear the raw power and
destructive potential of
Attitude.

Additionally, there were some
inherent flaws that plagued the
design. As I had found out at the first
competition, the most important issue
was frame flex. The central frame
brace did not connect the two main
frame rails that supported the weapon
assembly; instead, the frame rails were
joined solely by the top and bottom
plates (Figure 4).

Coupled with a live shaft for the
weapon disc and the use of thin
flexible top and bottom plates,
Attitude had a tendency to snap
weapon belts in critical situations,
such as in the gold medal
championship match against the brutal
drum of One Fierce Lawnboy at
Combots Cup VI.

Without a functioning weapon,
Attitude and its speedy but low torque
drive motors and thin titanium armor
were no match for the opponent, who
systematically took apart my robot in a
spectacular fashion.

For better or for worse, my
intense fighting spirit prevented me
from tapping out even as Attitude
took hit after hit and received
irreparable damage as revealed in